Merry panted as she climbed up the walls of her house, opening the window and slipping back into her room. She undressed and hid the disguise under her bed, wearing back her nightgown before finally falling onto her bed.
She hit the mattress repeatedly in frustration, and used a pillow to muffle herself. "We failed again... Careth got caught again! Why does this keep happening? God, I'm so useless!"
"Mary?"
Merry threw the pillow aside, and her eyes landed on her younger sister, who was standing in front of her, fully awake.
"Y-Yes, Jacy?"
"Why do you keep going out at night?"
Her simple question struck Merry like lightning. Merry inched forward, now being extra careful with her words. "You knew, Jacy? You knew I was going out this whole time?"
Jacy nodded innocently. "Sometimes when I wake up, you're not there. I thought you went to the toilet, but I saw you climbing from the window a few nights ago."
"Did you tell mom and dad?" Merry's heart was racing.
To her greatest relief, Jacy shook her tiny head. Merry embraced her sister tightly, whispering, "Thank you, Jacy. And I'm sorry, but you still need to keep this a secret."
"But why do you keep going out? Is it about that boy you see everyday?" Jacy asked, and Merry contemplated on whether she should tell.
"Um... yeah! He's really busy in the day, so I can only play with him at night," Merry lied, and pinched her little sister's cheek. "You know how sad it is to play by yourself, right? So I sneak out at night to accompany him."
Jacy stared at her, not fully convinced, and for a second Merry was afraid she would see through her. But eventually Jacy smiled cheekily and said, "Okay! But I wanna see him too! I wanna see your boyfriend!"
"H-Huh? He's not my boyfriend!" Merry replied, flustered. "And he can't leave his house because his parents are very strict. They're not as friendly as mom or dad."
The small girl pouted, but then wrapped her little arms around Merry's waist. "Okay. But I don't want you to keep leaving. Sometimes I can't sleep at night and I get scared. Can you tell your friend so we can take turns with you?"
Merry ruffled her hair, and looked to the paper calendar atop their drawers, sighing depressingly. "I don't think I'll be leaving again anytime soon."
She then bent down to Jacy's height and asked, "By the way, why didn't you tell mom and dad?"
Jacy placed a finger to her cheek, posing like she was in deep thought. "You didn't tell them you were leaving at night, and I found that weird because mom always told us to admit what we did wrong. And I know you listen to mom, but this time you didn't tell her about it, so I thought maybe it's something you can't tell them, so I didn't."
Merry broke into an appreciative smile. "I see. Thank you, Jacy. You're right. I can't tell them just yet."
"Tell me a story! I still don't feel sleepy," Jacy said and jumped back into her bed.
Merry, surprised with the sudden change of topic, knelt beside her sister's bed, and tried to recount the tales Careth had once told her.
—
The next morning, the two sisters awoke to hurried footsteps outside their door. Mrs. Gensweathe burst in and greeted good morning, placing suitcases in front of their beds. As her mother opened their cupboards and picked out Jacy's clothes, Merry approached her in confusion.
She scratched her head, still sluggish from sleep deprivation. "Mom? What's all the rush? And what are the suitcases for?"
Mrs. Gensweath swerved around, and was quite shocked upon seeing the dark circles under her daughter's eyes. "Dear, did you not get enough sleep? Nevermind that, I'll help you pack as soon as I'm done with Jacy. You hurry and wash up, now."
"Mom? Why are we packing? Are we going somewhere?" It was Jacy's turn to ask.
Her mother sighed and resumed filling the youngest's suitcase. "Your father will explain during breakfast. Just go and wash up now, you two."
The sisters did as told. When they were all seated at the dining table, with plain bread and jam as their meal, Jacy scrunched her button nose, brows knitting. "No bacons and eggs?"
"No, dear, we need to save up on food and money," her mother explained, spreading the jam with a butter knife. She gave a look to her husband, signaling him to start the explanation.
Mr. Gensweathe cleared his throat. "Marylith, Jacylith, we're moving to Dalphenstern. Dad has a friend there, and he helped us find a good place to live."
Jacy's eyes sparkled, but Merry's didn't. Instead, her eyes were dim and had no glitter of excitement, as this meant she will be gone before helping Careth escape.
"Why so sudden? It's not like we need to move," she said, trying to sound natural in front of her sister. In fact, all three of them were trying to remain normal around the little one.
"Well, think of it as a change of scenery. It's great to move around and have a new look on life, isn't it?" Her mother said, eyeing Merry cautiously.
Merry gripped on the butter knife tightly and returned her mother's glare. She then placed it down and left the table, not once touching her food. "I'll continue packing then. I don't feel hungry."
As she shut the door to her room, Merry could hear her footsteps coming up. Seconds later, Mrs. Gensweathe entered, completely dropping her motherly demeanour.
"You sound very reluctant to leave, Mary," she said crossly. "What is up with you? Your father has found a way to maintain our standard of living. When we get to Dalphenstern, we'll be known as nobles from another town. We'll have a new life there. Isn't that just brilliant?"
Merry scoffed. "And what will you do with the tea party? Not show up? Wouldn't the Willdyers suspect anything?"
"We already have a letter ready. It says that we had a family emergency, so we couldn't make it."
"Like they will believe that."
"Marylith!" her mother scolded. "Don't make this anymore difficult. You don't care about the boy anyway! Why are you—"
Upon seeing her daughter's hurt expression, Mrs. Gensweathe realized, and placed her hand to her forehead, about to pass out. "God, what have you done to yourself, Mary? I told you time and time again not to—"
"—get attached! I know, I know!" Merry finished for her. "But how could I not? He's a sweet, gentle and kind person. He always cared for me, and worried for me, to the point where I felt so guilty. I can't just leave, mom. I have to at least say goodbye."
Mrs. Gensweathe stomped her foot. "You are not going to the tea party. And I'm afraid you won't have a chance to say goodbye, because I received a letter from the manor this morning, saying that you're forbidden to meet the heir."
Merry's heart was at her throat. "What? Why?"
"He escaped last night. Almost got to Accruxia. Luckily the guards were informed and they caught him. Now he's basically trapped in the manor until the day comes."
Mrs. Gensweathe turned and was prepared to leave, when she felt a tight pull on her dress from behind. Merry had knelt on the floor and held onto her, begging, "Please, mom, let me see Careth just once. Please."
"Goodness, Mary! Stop this childish tantrum and get up!"
"Imagine if he was your child! Don't you think it's unfair for him to be treated this way? Just because he's not Blessed, it doesn't mean he has to die!"
Her mother yanked the dress out of her grip. "Yes. It is horribly cruel to treat a child like that. But his misfortune is going to bring down our entire family, and I will not let that happen. Would you want Jacy to live through our previous life? To sleep on the streets and only have few grains of rice for the whole day?"
Merry was silent. Of course, she never wanted that. Jacy was born when they moved into the chalet, and so far has only received the best and was pampered all throughout her life. The drastic change in lifestyle would be difficult to adjust to, and Merry certainly did not want to see the light in her sister's eyes go out.
There was a knock on the door, and Mr. Gensweathe entered. He looked to his crestfallen daughter, to his infuriated wife, and sighed.
"I heard everything outside. I should've expected this."
Mrs. Gensweathe pointed to Merry. "Dear, please talk some sense into her. Her selfish actions might jeopardize our entire plan!"
But he merely crossed his arms. "We should've known this was going to happen. Marylith is too young to be able to control her feelings."
His wife gaped. "Y-You're not saying, we go to the tea party?"
"Not everyone. Only me and Marylith," he replied, and Merry got to her foot. "Will that suffice? After all, not showing up to the tea party is, in a way, quite rude and suspicious. If the town knew, they would hunt us down."
Merry nodded fervently, and Mrs. Gensweathe finally gave in. "Fine. I guess our image won't be ruined entirely too, since we made an effort to show up."
As her mother continued to pack, the girl grabbed her father's arm. "Thank you, dad."
"I'm still quite disappointed in you though," Mr. Gensweathe said sharply, and put away her daughter's hands. "Make sure you don't make a scene when he dies. We're leaving as soon as he kicks the bucket."
He left, and Merry sat on her bed, dejected. She could hear the rustling of fabric and the clicking of the suitcase, but soon the background noise droned out as she succumbed to her thoughts.
Even though she will see him again, the day she meets Careth would already be his death day. And no matter how hard Merry racked her brain to formulate a plan, it just wasn't doable. Now that the manor was alerted of his escape, he would be under high security. He can't get past the town, because the people will be especially aware of his presence that day. And Merry guessed he was probably injured from the last attempt, which adds on to the impossibility.
So the only thing she could do when she meets him, is to say goodbye.